Life of Syn - Cars, 3-Day Benders, and You · 8:59pm Jan 25th, 2015
Greetings!
Long time no post. How are y'all doing? I know it's a bit weird to ask how you're doing in a blog post like this, but I do want to hear from you. You should give me an update down below. 
Since the holidays, I've shipped myself back to Pittsburgh despite car issues, lost keys, and generally bad (and/or racist) service from... everyone. Carnegie Mellon is a marvelous school, but man, you couldn't pay me enough to live in this city after graduation. Looking forward to getting back to MN to see my friends and family and fiance. 
I went on a bender this week. No, not boozing, although I did fix myself a few fire-ciders during that time. I highly recommend them. They're a great mix of spicy and apple-y, and give you that warm comfortable feeling with no bad aftertaste. It's the kind of thing I imagine Big Mac settling in with after he's read Smarty Pants her bedtime story, and I could drink it pretty much whenever.
Actually, wait here a moment....
*clanking glasses*
*pouring noises*
*sip sip sip*
Ah....
Anyway, inspiration struck me late on Wednesday, and I suddenly had an idea for the More Most Dangerous Game contest that Obsalescensseccee and Equestria Daily were running. If you're familiar with the contest, you'll realize that my muse only left me about 3 days to write a 15,000-word story.
What a bitch.
Still, she was willing to work with me, and that itch wasn't going to go away. Over the course of Wednesday night through Saturday night when the contest closed, I think I spent about 30 hours (roughly 60% of my waking time) writing, rewriting, and editing. When I finished the last chapter at around 10:30 last night, I was awash with satisfaction (and something else, too, but I'll let you read the story to find out what).
I've heard that the best thing you can do for your own happiness is to create something. Whether you're feeling up or down, your brain is wired to give you plenty of that sweet, sweet endorphin when you're able to look at something and say, "Yeah, I made that." It's actually also the secret to IKEA's success (see #1).
So however you're feeling, take some time out to create. Be it through writing, 3-D modeling, or anything else, throw yourself at a project with all your heart. Maybe the result won't be as perfect as you'd like, but you can still garner some satisfaction from the fact that you've contributed to this little world of ours. Let me know what you're working on, too. I wanna hear all about it.
Also, be sure to check out 'Ambition Undying,' and let me know what you think about it in the story comments. I wanna hear about that, too! 
Peace,
Vivid
And we here in Minnesota can't wait for you to get back!
Seriously, there's few enough people living here as it is, it's quite boring.
2746648
Thank you!
You're a sweetheart.
Will you be at MLP-MSP this year? I've got a wedding that I really, really need to be at on that Saturday, but I'm going to try to swing by late on Friday night or on Sunday.
2747706 So far as I know, I will not. I'm still living with parents, currently, and attending college, and working on various projects, so that leaves me with far too little time for conventions.
I will, however, be attending Convergence 2015. It's my yearly birthday present, so...
Will you be attending that one?
2747713
Well, luckily MLP-MSP is during the summer.
As for Convergence, I'm not a huge fan of it (too busy for me), but I usually end up there every year regardless. Maybe we could meet up an talk pony?
2747718
Most of what I'd heard was that it was early spring. Honestly, I hadn't done too much research into it. Now that I know it's in the summer, I just may take another look at the site.
As for a meetup at Convergence, that would be pretty neat. I might even be on a few panels this year, I dunno. PM me and we'll figure it out a bit closer to con time.
Firecider is it? I don't drink alcohol myself. Not necessarily because I'm afraid of learning what I might be like when drunk, but primarily because of the ever present aftertaste. Any alcoholic beverage I've tried so far somehow retained a bitterness to it. Drinking more for flavor than anything else I thus tend to stick to fruit juices, or non alcoholic strawberry daiquiries. ^^
I can do little but agree that there's great satisfaction in creation. Ikea furniture is awesome. As mentioned there's satisfaction in constructing your own furniture. I've recently even added three cabinets to my apartment. Ikea though can't compare to those things you create yourself from your own ideas and creativity, or impulsive muses. It's even better when you can then share said work and have others enjoy them. Though I think I could do without the stresses of deadlines ^^
Ambition undying was quite the different story than I generally read, and, though because of that I cannot judge it too fairly, an interesting original take on the chosen topic. It features some strong moments in character struggles and setting up the world or sequence of events, the occasional cute or heartfelt interactions, growing friendships and a lingering fear of darker tendencies assuming control. Of course it had it's flaws, as can maybe be expected from a story written in the short amount of time leading up to a deadline, but overall it was a good read, if sad.
I find it funny though that any potential improvement I come across tend to be different from the comments of others. I guess i get lost in stories in a different way, or build more headcanon around the fictional worlds I immerse myself in.
2754468
Everything I hear about your apartment makes me more jealous. I'm sure it looks absolutely lovely.
And your suggestions are all good ones. I'll take whatever advice I can get, even if I don't plan on implementing every idea I hear. It's incredibly valuable for an author to hear what's worked and what didn't, and just knowing that parts were confusing is feedback enough.
Best of luck with your deadlines!